Something Different
by Songstone
Summary: The youngest prince, Deidara, wasn't pleased when he learned he was supposed to wed Sakura Haruno. And though he tried to find help among his family, he would have never guessed that he would find exactly what he needed in the stables. SasoDei
1. The hiding place

**Something Different**

**A story by Songstone and KajiR**

**Songstone: TEH WOOT! A joint story. XD Me and my buddy started to RP this out and thought it would make a really awesome fanfic. So, with a bit of editing and rearranging, here it is!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

**Chapter 1: The hiding place**

"What!? Why me, un!?" There was a loud shout echoing down the many halls of the palace. It was the middle of the afternoon, and was usually one of the quietest parts of the day. The three prince's would be in their rooms and the only princess would be outside somewhere with her friends.

However, today was very different due to all the shouting coming from the King and Queen's throne room.

"Because Itachi is too old, Sasuke is already engaged, and Ino is a female. You're the only one left, Deidara. So stop complaining. This had already been decided long ago. You're supposed to marry Sakura Haruno. It wouldn't only strengthen ties with neighboring countries, but it would secure you a place at the throne since you would be King once she was given the title of Queen." Tsunade informed her third born son with a straight face.

"This isn't fair, un." Deidara complained, crossing his arms. He had lowered his voice at least. "I don't want to marry her. I don't want to marry anyone for that matter." He was barely nineteen! He should have gotten a choice with what he wanted to do instead of being forced into marriage just because it kept him in royalty.

"Stop your complaining and get use to the idea instead." The King sure wasn't being much help to the young prince in his current situation. "And don't give me that girly 'but I wan't to marry someone that I love' talk either. You will be marrying the girl wihtin three months and you will be happy about it . . . Just like I told myself when I married your mother." He grinned and crossed his arms over his chest. Sure, Tsunade had been married once before. But that didn't stop Jiraiya from jumping in when the old King, Orochimaru, had . . . mysteriously died.

"Too . . . too old?" Itachi, Deidara's step brother, was still in a small state of shock to have been called that, and was busily looking at himself in the mirror. "I'm . . . too old?" He asked and looked at his mother. Sure wasn't a big boost to his self asteem to be called old. And by his own mother ontop of that! At least he wans't crying like his younger brother always would as soon as something went wrong or he didn't get what he wanted.

Tsunade, after delivering a punch to her husband's stomach, turned to Itachi with a bored expression on her face. "You're up there in years, Itachi. You're twenty-five and Sakura is sixteen. The girl is too young for you even if you were interested." She said, rolling her eyes.

Sasuke, Itachi's younger brother, stiffled a laugh at the eldest son's expression after hearing that explanation. "Yeah. They're right, Itachi. You're much too old already. Just look at those bags under your eyes. Pretty sure that there's some gray in your hair too . . ." He bit down on his lip again and snorted in amusement.

"Shut up, Sasuke. I am not that old - gray hairs? Where? Oh my God . . ." Itachi whimpered as he quickly opened up his ponytail and got up form his chair. He made his way out of the room looking in the hand held mirror, searching for the mentioned abominations on his head.

Sasuke covered his mouth as he laughed lightly. His older brother could be so vain at times and he loved to play on that. "Lemme help you look." He offered, hopping up from his seat and hurrying after his brother to pluck out the unwanted hairs. He would only tell him after that two more would grow in their place.

Deidara didn't seem to be paying attention to either of them. He narrowed his eyes at his mother. "I am not going to be forced into anything, un." He insisted with an icy glare that he had gotten from his mother's side of the family.

Tsunade, however, returned the favor. "Do not talk back to me. This is going to happen. Get over it. Suck it up." She said. Ah. Nothing like motherly love . . .

The blond grumbled and turned his head the other way, muttering a near incomprehensible 'I hate you, un' under his breath.

"Mo-om!" The argument was interrupted by Deidara's older twin sister, who made a dramatic entrance as she raced towards her parents. Stopping by her mother's side with a sugar sweet smile on her lips, she leaned her hands on the arm rest of the throne. "Can I have some money to go out with my firends to town? Pleaaaseee?" Well, it was worth a shot. If mommy said no, daddy was always there as a backup. He was a sucker for all his kids after all. Expecially his only daughter.

"Hm?" Tsunade asked, looing over at Ino. She sighed and gave an eyeroll as she handed her daughter a small amount of money out of a coin purse lying at her feet. "Sure. Don't stay out late." Might as well let her go. Jiraiya would always give in and hand over money anyway.

Deidara shook his head as he looked at his parents and his sister. This . . . was beyond unfair. Sasuke got to at least chose who he was going to marry! And he didn't even have to if he didn't want to!

He groaned and turned on his heel, stomping out of the room. He needed some fresh air. He couldn't stand to be with his family for much longer after that announcement. "I'm leaving." He shouted over his shoulder, not caring if they heard or not.

Jiraya made an attempt to call after him they weren't done talking, but failed as he curled over again. The Queen sure packed a punch . . .

- - -

Outside, the mood was a lot lighter and happier then the mood indoors. It was late spring, so most of the plants in the garden were bright green. Some of the flowers were already blooming.

Not far form there were the stables. They were kept quite clean, considering that there were ten horses taking up residence in there. The guards that had horses for thier job kept thier animals to care for elsewhere. It was only fair since the king figured it was enough with just one stable boy.

"Don't let them bother you that much, Deidara." Ino said in a fake try to cheer her sibling up. "You're probably just cranky because you're still a virgin. You should try get one of the guards into bed." She suggested with a grin and placed an arm around his shoulders. "That is if you don't want to try and bed a maid . . . if you have an interest in girls, that is."

"Shut up, Ino." Deidara shot back, shrugging away from his sister's half embrace and dusting his shoulder off as if his clothes had just been dirtied. He groaned and put a hand to his forehead, shielding his eyes from the sun as he looked around for someplace to hide in.

He eventually got an idea and smirked slightly, heading for the stables. That would be a good place to hide in. Besides, Ino hardly went there anyway. Afraid to dirty her clothes, most likely. She only went there in the morning to take a horse out to ride.

"Just because you sleep with every man around doesn't mean that I will. Same for women. I just don't like anyone, un." He said, crossing his arms as he hurried away. "So, if you would kindly leave me alone, I would appreciate it." He said, tossing a fake smile over his shoulder before he headed into the stables completely.

"If you'd take my advice, you'd see! You'll be thanking me one day you jerk!" She called after Deidara. But she turned around and left in the opposite direction, her nose wrinkling lightly at the thought of going into that nasty place. Why be around those dirty animals when there was no need to?

- - -

"You out there. Could you be kind and hand me the towel there on the hay?" A voice came from one of the boxes as the young Prince stepped into the stables fully. Besides the open door was a larger towel laying on the said hay.

"What?" Deidara asked, jumping in surprise by the sudden voice calling out to him.

"Hurry up. The mare here doesn't have all day." The voice said again. He couldn't really know it was the Prince that he was speaking to. But right now he didn't care who was out there as long as they could be of use. He couldn't leave the mare's side since she was on the ground and the foal she was giving birth to was stuck half way out.

"Easy girl, easy. You'll be done soon." The man assured with a soft voice to calm the animal while petting the horse's thigh.

Deidara snorted and looked around for the source of the voice. "Excuse me? Do you know who you're talking . . . un?" He asked, stopping himself when he heard the grunts and neighs that the horse was making within the container. He walked over cautiously and peeked over the side before his eyes widened. "Oh!" He made a surprised noise. He'd had no idea that something like that was happening! 

He quickly hurried in and grabbed up the towel off of the hay as said, though he slowed down as he neared the animal. He hadn't really been around horses too much. Not since he was a young boy. He held the towel out to the worker who was besides the large creature, keeping his distance from both he and the animal. "H-here. Un." He said in a quiet voice.

"Thank -" He stopped himself when he looked up at the blond. "Oh." He said upon realizing who he'd just been ordering around. "Sorry Your Magesty." It really didn't sound like he meant it, but he had other things to worry about now. He took the towel, shifting a little as his hands gripped the front legs of the foul. "Okay girl . . ." He said to the mare. "On three . ." He sighed and took a breath. "Three." And then he pulled.

The foul slowly slid out, though barely moving. The farmhand quickly began cleaning out the nostrills and rubbing it's chest where the heart was while the mare lied panting and exausted on the hay bed.

Finally, a breath of air and a few kicks later, the foul began squirming and the red haired male could breathe out in relif as he gently cleaned the foul's head. "Congratulations. Its a colt." He smiled as the mare slowly moved to stand up. She took care of cleaning the rest of the male foul.

The man stood up and dried his bloodstained hands on the clean parts of the towel. It didn't help much considering it was wood he was trying to clean. "What brings you here, my Prince?" He asked while turning his attention back to Deidara now.

Diedara stood back, moving away from the animals as they began to move around. He slowly eased his way out of the container and out into the stables again, hand over his chest. He had never witness anything like that before. It was . . . messy. Slightly disturbing. But still, he had to admit that the newly born foal was a sight that was well worth it. He gave a slight grin and leaned against the wooden doors, peeking over the edge to see the mother and child animals interacting.

It took him a moment to hear the question, and when he did, he turned his attention to the farm hand. "Oh. Nothing, un." He said, straightening up and dusting himself off lightly. "I need a place to hide in. That's all." He said, crossing his arms and leaning against the wooden frame again, flipping some stray hair over his shoulder.

"Well, make yourself at home" He shrugged at hearing that and closed the door so the two could have some peace now. Moving right along with his job, he picked up a bucket and went to the back where the fodder and such were kept. Taking the appropriate amount, he moved to another box where a brown stallion was kept and opened the door to it so he could feed the horse. "Mind if I ask why you are hiding?" He questioned, not bothering to look at where the Prince was at the moment as he petted the eating horse.

"None of your business, un." Deidara said, looking over at the other male with a light snort. But he felt how he was dying to tell someone about his misfortune. He sighed and tilted his head back against the wooden door frame and then quickly moved away when a horse came close to him, sniffing at his hair. Inspecting the newcomer. He smoothed out the blond locks and twirled his fingers around the strands absently. "I just needed to get away from my family. My brothers and sister. My mother and father, un." He growled lightly. "They're forcing me to get married."

Sasori forced back an amused smirk as he rubbed the muzzle of the horse. "That so? Spares you a lot of trouble then. You don't have to go around looking for someone. And your family will take care of wedding invitations, set up, etcetera." He pointed out. As if that would make the whole thing easier to deal with.

"Doesn't matter." Deidara said, crossing his arms over his chest. "I don't want to be married. You're missing the point, un." He growled, irritated. "And they just had to chose the most annoying person on the face of the planet for me to marry." He added. He had known Sakura ever since he was a baby. They had practically grown up together.

They had never gotten along.

"I thought that was your sister." The other pointed out while exiting the box and placing the empty bucket aside.

Deidara scoffed at the other, rolling his eyes. "You've got no right to be speaking like that about my sister." Even if what he said was true, he had to admit.

"My apologies." The redhead said quickly, and in such a way that didn't make him seem apologetic in the least. "You could always find someone else to marry. Then you can at least marry someone less annoying." He made a small hand movement to that. "At least someone you can tolerate. Don't see the big deal really. Not like you'll have to do much more then that. Along with trying to impregnate your new mate."

"And it's not just about marrying someone that you tolerate." The blond gave an eye roll to that. "It's for the good of the country, un. To 'strengthen ties' and make sure that we're all on good terms and blah blah blah . . ." Deidara grunted. He shrugged off the jacket that he had been wearing over his shirt and swung it over his shoulder. He was about to add something else to his own words, but paused and tilted his head before he pointed to the other's arms. "What happened to your hands, un?" He asked.

At the mention of his arms, the redhead looked at his hand and then smirked lightly with a shrug as he went to grab the long toothed hay fork and placed it in the one wheel wagon so that he could clean out one of the empty boxes.

"Accident." Was the answer he gave to the inquiry.

Deidara put his hands to his hips. This guy spoke to him almost like he was talking to another farm hand rather than a Prince! But he disregarded that for the moment, curious about the other male. "What kind of accident, un?" He continued, moving to lean on the door of the empty container. He absently fiddled with the lock and got it open, giving it a tug open so the other could get inside.

"Thank you." Well, it didn't hurt being polite when you had a Prince open the door for you.

Once he'd set the wagon down and began filling it with the old hay, he talked again. "It happened when I was about eight. I was helping my dad with the horses and two wolves spooked them out on the field. I tried calming them down and got trampled." He said that as if it was nothing more then he'd sprained an ankle or, at most, broken a bone. "Lost both arms and legs".

Gripping onto the door of the stable, Deidara grunted and heaved himself up onto it, balancing before he sat down and swung his legs, resting them on either side of the door. He looked the other over slowly, eyes stopping on the mention limbs. "Doesn't seem like it at all, un." He mused aloud. "You move around just the same as I do." He continued, still swinging his legs absently.

"I've had eleven years to . . . perfect my movments if you can call it that." The redhead replied and heaved another laod of hay and manuer into the wagon untill the box floor was relatively empty.

He moved out with the items and headed towards the back to discard the load for the gardener to use for the plants later.

Once the other was through with the box, Deidara swung the door shut by kicking his leg against the wall. He hopped off of the door, not bothering to lock it up again, and followed the other out of the stables. He didn't know why he was following this guy around. Perhaps it was just boredom.

Taking a moment in the sun, the farmhand unclasped the shoulder straps to the overalls he wore and then removed the long sleeved shirt he wore beneath it, exposing the two wooden arms. The prosthetics started just below his shoulders and were held on with a harness.

For being shorter and seemingly younger than the Prince, the man was surprisingly well built. Not too muscular, but still in good physical health. His skin was seemingly smooth, though there was a rather nasty scar on the left side of his chest.

Deidara paused when he saw the other without his shirt. His eyes went over the redhead's body, admiring his form and shape and also studying his arms and the harnesses that kept them in place. It was an interesting sight, he had to admit.

"Doesn't it ever get difficult for you, un?" He asked, tilting his head. He was rarely curious with anyone else's business, but he wanted to know a bit more about this person. He intrigued him. "What's your name anyway?"

"Sasori. And only sometimes." Was the reply that came as he righted one of the shoulder straps and took a look at the weather. It wouldn't be raining at least. So he could let the mare and foal out. It would be good for the little one to go out and stretch his legs. "I hardly see you down here, unlike your sister and brothers. You don't like riding? Or horses in general?" He asked. Come to think of it, he did recall the other get spooked when the animals got too close. 

"I don't care for riding horses like my brothers do, un." Deidara said, putting his hands behind his back. "Didn't have a fun experience when I was younger." He grumbled. He'd fallen off at least six horses before. Having his father laugh at him was enough to embarrass him into never wanting to ride again. That had been quite a blow to a five-year-old's self esteem.

Once having returned back in and opening the door for the said pair and putting a harness over the mare's head, Sasori lead her out of the stable and out into the pasture. The colt followed on slightly shaky legs.

He slowed down however as he looked at the mare. She still seemed quite exhausted, when usually they would recover quite quick after a birth. Once on the field, the colt was more curious about the grass, so while he was smelling the ground and soil, Sasori inspected the mare.

Deidara backed away from the animals again, but he cleared his throat and stepped forward again, not wanting to show any fear in front of the other. "Is she all right, un?" He asked, seeing Sasori examining the mare.

"Not sure. Do me a favour and feel her forehead, will you?" He asked, gently tugging on the head harness so the animal lowered her head. "Check for a fever."

"What?" Deidara asked, blinking in surprise at the request. "Why don't you do it yourself, un?" He asked, crossing his arms.

Sasori held up his hands. "I can grip things. Not feel." His voice was slightly annoyed at the other. "Not like she will bite your head off. She's one of the nicer ones we have here. Go on. You can compare her temperature to mine." And with that he used his free hand to move away the red bangs from his forehead.

The blond didn't look too confident, and he seemed outright irritated, but he sighed and slowly moved forward. He backed up a bit when the horse leaned over to sniff at him. He squeaked something, but swallowed back his fear and reached his hand out, placing his palm flat against the mare's forehead. He did the same to Sasori, putting his hand on his head.

He kept both there for a moment, heart pounding. He was just relieved that the horse hadn't tried to bite at him or anything of the sort. "Well, her temperture is higher than yours, un." He said. "Isn't that how it always is, though?" He asked curiously, relaxing slightly now that he was so close to the creature without problems.

"Shit . . ." Sasori grunted lightly at hearing that and shook his head. "Should actually be a little cooler then us . . . dammit . . ." He swore while gently betting the crest of the horse. "Could be an infection in her uterus. But I need a vet here to check on that." Sasori looked over at Deidara now. "Would it be to much to ask of the King to get one here?"

"An infection?" Deidara asked, looking now at the horse, keeping his hand absently on her forehead. He furrowed his thin brow lightly at hearing that. He didn't really want to go back to speak with his father, but knew that it would be animal cruelty to just leave her alone if something was wrong with her. "I'll go tell him to get one here, un." Deidara agreed, backing up towards to palace again. He sped up, going at a light run towards his home.

"Thanks, my Lord." Sasori said, not bothering to raise his voice to make sure that the other had heard. He instead looked at the female horse. "You'll be fine. The vet will make sure of that." He said assuringly while the foal now began suckling milk from under it's mother's belly. 

**Songstone: Yay! Well, I'll end this chapter here, and see what you guys think of it so far. If you've got any questions, feel free to ask! R&R pretty please!**

** P.S. Thank you to my Sasori-danna for coming up with the title, un!****  
**


	2. A permanent hideaway

**Something Different**

**A story by Songstone and KajiR**

**Songstone: CHAPTER TWO. I finally got around to editing this. XD**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto  
**

**Chapter 2: A permanent hideaway**

"Oh! My run away son returns" Jiraiya beamed as Deidara nearly ran into him. But he sopped the collision by placing his hands on the other's shoulders. "What's the rush? Came to tell me that you changed your mind about the marriage?" He asked.

Deidara scoffed and rolled his eyes up at the older man. "No, and I don't plan on changing my mind about that either, un." He muttered, squirming out of his father's hold. "I came back because we need a vet." He said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Jiraiya was about to comment that one would usually ask for a doctor when not feeling well, but contained himself as Deidara continued.

"Something is wrong with a horse down at the stables and we need a vet to check on her." He informed his father.

The white haired man sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'll see if I can get hold of one. There aren't many vets around in these parts . . . What were you doing at the stables? I thought you said you'd never go there after that those things kept throwing you off." He grinned. He had found it funny how the little boy had tried holding on for dear life as the horses galloped about with him on their backs.

The blond's face flushed and he averted his eyes from his father. "None of your concern. Just get the damn vet, un." He grumbled, trying to block out any and all embarrassing situations that the man could use to tease him.

"Will do." The King girnned, giving his son a noogie before leaving. He know how upset Deidara got when someone messed up his hair. It something the boy shared with his older brother, Itachi.

- - -

Jiraiya kept his word about getting a vet, and sent a messenger away as soon as he had spoken to Deidara. But when he couldn't find any downtown, he informed his son as quickly as he could. He found the boy in the music room, tapping keys to the piano while he waited for his father.

"Look up our gardener. He is our doctor too, in case you don't remember. It can't be that hard for him to treat a four legged animal." He told his son as he patted his back.

"The gardener?" Deidara asked with a raised eyebrow. He groaned and decided it was better than nothing. The only thing he wasn't looking forward to was having to deal with the man's bad attitude.

- - -

The blond Prince headed out to look around the property after Jiraiya had told him who to look for. It might have taken forever since it was quite a big palace. Though, thankfully, the gardener wasn't very hard to spot.

"Zetsu!" Deidara called out, walking through the garden and tapping the man on the shoulder once he had found him trimming a few plants. "I need your help with something, un. Come to the stables. There's a horse there that's ill and we can't seem to locate a vet." He summed up quickly, hands on his hips.

"A horse?" The gardener asked with a raised eyebrow as he paused from his work and faced the prince. "My lord . . . I don't think a horse qualifies in my area of practice . . ." He said while putting the large hedge cutter aside and tugging the gardening gloves of his different colored hands.

"Not like we have much of a choice anyway. As I said, no vet. Un." Deidara said, tapping his foot lightly on the ground. He was irritated now for wasting time like this. He sighed, closing his eyes briefly. "Could you at least try and see what's wrong?" He asked, rather than ordered.

Zetsu looked at the young prince for a moment before sighing and speaking again, though in a slightly deeper voice. [Fine I will have a look. Don't expect miracles. He grunted and walked to the tool shed, gathering a bag with a few basic tools. He always had some of his medical supplies in there. You never knew when someone would fall ill or get hurt.

- - -

Sasori was still outside when Deidara led Zetsu to the stable and the mare was now lying on the grass, panting.

"She's gotten worse. She lied down a hour ago and hasn't gotten back up." He stated. He stopped when he saw who exactly the Prince had brought along. "Aren't you the-"

"Gardener." [No vet. Deal with it. Zetsu cut the other off as he knelt down by the caramel coloured mare. He gave her a quick look over. [Fever . . . quick breathing . . . glazed over eyes . . . He muttered the symptoms to himself while rummaging through his bag with one hand.

He pulled out a stethoscope and righted it on himself before placing it against the mare's chest area. He soon enough found the heart and listened quietly.

Sasori, in the mean time, had stepped back and was now holding the foal gently around the neck to keep it out of the way. "The castle doctor?" He asked Deidara, his voice sceptic and low so Zetsu wouldn't hear.

"My father tried to get a vet." Deidara said, shrugging his shoulders lightly. "There weren't any here. I think they all might be a town or so away, un." He grumbled. He began fixing his hair back into since it had come undone from his ponytail a while back and he hadn't gotten the chance to fix it.

"But this is better than nothing. Don't you think?" He asked, watching as Zetsu tried to work on the horse. His eyes moved over to Sasori as well before his gaze fell towards the small foal. His eyes softened slightly in sympathy. He wondered what the poor thing must have been experiencing . . . being held away from it's mother . . .

He tried to look as indifferent as he could, but then again, that was what Itachi was better at than he was . . .

"I guess it is." Sasori said. He glanced up at the prince, smiling lightly as he spotted the clear change in expression. He was most likely comparing him to his older siblings. The blond was at least acting more 'human' than the others would in such a situation. 

Either way, the redhead was jerked out of his thoughts by the doctor. He was asking for basic health information. Such as how many heart beats a horse should have per minute.

Once getting Sasori's answer, Zetsu nodded in a 'this is bad' manner. He rose and moved behind the horse, feeling along the spine. He held a syringe in his black hand.

[I need one of you to hold her head and the other to hold her front legs. So you'll have to get on your knees and get a bit dirty."My lord." He informed. He kept his white finger against the spot on the mare's back where he would take the spinal fluid sample.

Deidara snorted lightly and nodded his head. "Sure. I can do that. Unlike my brothers, a bit of dirt won't bother me, un." He said with a slight grin.

"You hold her head." The redhead said. He trusted the horse enough not to bite the Prince, but kicking . . . All horses kicked when stressed, scared or in pain. He didn't want to put the other at risk of getting hurt.

With a nod, Dedara carefully moved over to the horse and knelt down besides her head. He put his arms around her neck to keep her still as best as he would be able to.

The mare's brown eyes looked up towards him, having a soft gaze in them. She shifted her head to lay comfortably on Diedara's lap and closed her eyes for a moment, almost as if knowing what was going to happen.

The blond blinked back down at the horse's brown eye and gave a soft smile as he gently scratched her neck. He was still very wary of the large creature. She was so much bigger than he was and he was terrified of being injured. Just hearing what had happened to Sasori made him tense. But he figured that he shouldn't let it bother him.

After all, the redhead still got out there and worked with the horses everyday despite what had happened to him. Deidara would be better off following his example.

The horse let out a whine as the needle entered between the spinal bones. Zetsu slowly began drawing the back of the syringe out, bringing back a rather murky looking liquid.

Once he'd removed the needle, Sasori relaxed the hold he'd had on the front legs, sitting back to start stroking the caramel coloured fur. Once more, the horse had looked up at Deidara, sighing heavily through her nose.

Once he saw that it was okay to release the creature, he let go of his hold from around the mare's neck, though he stayed seated so he wouldn't disturb her and make her move her head again.

"So you don't know what's wrong with her now, un?" He asked Zetsu, though he stayed looking down at the horse, now petting her forehead and between her eyes, palm flat against the soft fur.

[I know . . . The man sighed, shaking the syringe lightly. [This . . . should, in normal cases, be clear like water. Not look like cream. He stood up slowly. [She's very sick . . . I can give her a dose of antibiotics. I don't know if it will save her, though. What's her weight?

Once getting the required information out of the farm hand, Zetsu closed his bag and turned to go get the medicine he had mentioned.

"You'll be fine . . . You've got a baby to look out for now. You'll fight. Won't you?" Sasori smiled weakly and ran his hands over the smooth coat on the horse's side.

Meanwhile, the colt had moved to behind Diedara and was gently nudging the prince in the back of the head. After a moment, though, he began munching on the blond hair, seeming rather content with himself.

Deidara squeaked in surprise and shut his eyes tightly, ducking his head beneath his shoulders. "Don't bite me, un." He said in a whisper as he reached back and pulled his hair free from the foal.

"Don't worry, he won't bite. He's just tasting new things." Sasori assured, not bothering to stiffle a snort of amusement at the other's reaction. He was too worried about the mare at the moment to bother with formalities.

The prince flipped the ponytail and loose hair over his shoulder, trying to keep the colt from biting it again. He carefully patted him on the head as well, being extra cautious since he wanted to keep all of his fingers in tact. "You think she can make it?" He asked, looking over at Sasori with worry in his eyes since it was obvious he'd gotten really interested in this situation.

"Doesn't hurt to hope. Does it?" The redhead sighed. "Just a shame if she were to die . . . It means he will be an orphan." He gestured to the rather playful colt. "And one of the nicer horses is lost."

You couldn't really blame the guy for getting attached. After all, he more or less lived with them.

Deidara nodded his head in agreement and glanced down at the horse again, petting her neck and scratching it lightly. "I haven't been this close to a horse in a long time, un . . ." He mumbled aloud.

He paused for a while, looking over at the colt, who was still behind him, and then down at the mare. He sighed softly and leaned down, hugging her neck gently, blond hair falling onto the ground. "Does she have a name?" He asked Sasori, peeking up from his hunched position.

"I call her Candy. Your sister knows her better as 'stupid horse', 'idiotic animal' and 'bitch'." Sasori sighed and smiled a little while watching the other.

"Huh. Really? Wow, those are the same names that I use for my sister as well, un." Deidara said, smirking slightly as he stayed down, shutting his eyes and relaxing. He could hear the mare's heavy breathing and continued to pat her neck lightly, nails scratching over her fur gently.

"Candy, then." He said, smiling faintly as he chuckled.

Sasori nodded and smiled gently. "They're good company. I can't imagine why you'd be scared of them."

"Well, I've been falling off of horses professionally for years, un." He clarified to Sasori. "Terrified of them, really. Guess that . . . she's not so bad, though."

"Nothing to be scared about really. I mean . . . if you fall off, you get back on. Or, you never learned how to sit on one. Or you got a inexperienced horse." Sasori said while looking over his shoulder as he heard Zetsu returning.

"I could teach you how to ride. That is if you won't end up screaming in terror like a little girl." A small smirk ran over his lips saying that. He might have been pushing his luck here, but he was having fun while doing it.

The blond lifted his head at that, face dark red. "Take that back, you jerk!" He demanded, but paused when he looked up and saw that Zetsu had come back. He decided he would let that one slide . . . for now anyway.

"So what are you gonna do? Un." He asked the man, tucking some of his now dirty hair back behind his ear.

[As I said, I'm going to give her a proper dose of antibiotics. Twice a day starting now, and then again in the morning. And for a week after. If she makes it through the night that is. He said, holding six white pills in his palm. [If she does, then she might have a chance.

Sasori moved closer to where Deidara sat to help. He forced open the horse's mouth, giving Deidara a very nice look at the teeth and inside of her mouth in the process.

Zetsu managed to drop the pills as far back as possible and Sasori closed the mare's mouth, tilting her large head back and stroking her throat to help her swallow.

[Now we just need to get her up on her feet and back inside. It won't do her good laying out here.

"How are we going to get her up?" Deidara asked, managing to move his legs out from under the horse's head. He inched back a bit, waiting for orders from either man so he would know how to help.

Huh. Roles were switched here. Seems that he was the one taking orders this time

[You can come over here with me. We'll be pushing. Carrot top takes care of pulling. Zetsu simply instructed as he moved his hands a bit under the lower back of the animal. [You take her by the shoulders.

Sasori grabbed a hold of the harness, waiting for the other two. On Zetsu's sign, he pulled, heaving her up as the two male's behind her pushed and lifted her to stand. Soon enough she was on all fours again, staggering a bit and shaking her mane free from dirt.

"That's my girl" Sasori smiled and petted her neck, slowly leading her back to the stables, the foal following close behind. "Thank you doctor. My lord." He said before disappearing inside the stables again.

"I didn't do much." Deidara said, following after Sasori instead of going back to the palace. Nothing really important there anyway. Being out here was much more interesting.

Zetsu leaned back, arching his back a little as he answered with a [Don't mention it. before leaving. He probably should start taking up veterinary studies. If the foul did end up orphan, he'd probably be fit choice to hire for check-ups since he had done a rather good job just now.

"Hope the medicine will work for her. Un." Deidara said, crossing his arms loosely over his chest. He paused as he was about to add something else, and felt his waist and shoulders. "Where's my jacket?" He questioned to himself. He glanced around his feet before he looked a bit ahead of himself and he saw the young colt with the sleeve of his jacket in his mouth.

He made a light groan, but laughed anyway, going over and cautiously reaching around the other's mouth to get the garment back. "What are you going to name this guy anyway, un?" He asked Sasori.

"I don't know yet. I usually name them after colour or personality." He shrugged lightly and then smirked as the foul began a tug-of- war with the prince.

"He's quite fistey though. I might name him Spirit or something." Leading the mare back into the box (the foal soon enough letting go of the jacket to hurry after it's mother), he watched as the female lied down on the dry hay to rest.

"Would be a fitting name." Deidara agreed, dusting off the cloth lightly before tying it around his waist for safe keeping. He moved over to the door and hopped up onto it again, peeking down at the mother and child scene inside. He smiled lightly and then looked down at Sasori.

"You wouldn't mind me coming out here again sometime, would you? Un." He asked. He hadn't planned on sticking around there the whole day, but it was nice outside. And the animals weren't as bad as he thought they were. Or at least Candy wasn't. It had helped take his mind off of his own troubles.

Sasori smiled softly and leaned against the wall. "Not really. It's nice to have someone that actually answers when you talk." Looking the other up and down briefly, he made a small gesture with his hand. "You might want to consider less . . . formal wear though. It's easy to get dirty, even if you just hang around here"

Deidara looked down at himself as well before he gave a laugh and nodded. "Yeah, think I'll do that, un." He agreed. He could easily see the dirt and dust sticking to his clothes and could only imagine what his hair looked like now after he'd had it sprawled out on the ground like he had earlier.

"Good having company here, too. No one here tells me to behave at least." It took him a while to get used to, but he found that he liked how Sasori spoke to him. Not too much respect, but just enough for any average person.

"Other then don't mess up my tools and abuse the animals, you can pretty much do whatever you like." It wasn't like he could stop the prince from coming down for a visit, but . . . he didn't really mind.

**Songstone: This came out a bit longer than expected. XD But oh well. Isn't it cute? Please R&R and tell me what you think of our story!**


End file.
